Latvian Academy of Sciences

INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS

Miera iela 32, Salaspils-1, LV 2169
Tel.: (3712)944700. Fax: (371)7901214
E-mail: mbroka@sal.lv
http://www.vide.lv/fiz.htm

Director Dr. habil. phys. O. LIELAUSIS, Full mem. LAS

Chair of the Scientific Council Dr. habil.phys. A. CEBERS, Full mem. LAS

The Institute was founded in 1946 as Institute of Physics and Mathematics of the Academy of Sciences. The first Director was the well-known mathematician N. Brazma. At first mainly the academic staff of the University of Latvia worked at the Institute. From 1948 to 1967 the head of the Institute was I. Kirko, Full mem. AS; from 1967 to 1992-Y. Mikhailov, Full mem. LAS; from 1992 to 1993- I. Bersons, Cor.mem. LAS.

In early 1990s a significant reorganization of the Institute of Physics took place as a result of which the LAS Nuclear Research Centre was established and laboratories of several branches went over to this Centre and the University of Latvia, but one laboratory went over to the LAS Institute of Physical Energetics. After the reorganization the Institute of Physics has turned into a specialized scientific institution engaged in research problems of magnetohydrodynamics, heat, and mass transfer.

The Institute is widely participating in international projects. Agreements with the scientific centres or companies of Germany, France, Israel, the USA, and Korea have been concluded. Scientific research is conducted as well as designing and manufacturing of separate magnetohydrodynamic equipment. Since 1994 the Institute participates in research of the scientific project "Turbulence and Heat Transfer in Liquid Metals Under High Magnetic Fields" financed by the European Union.

In accordance with the decisions of the General Meeting of scientists of the Institute and the Senate of the University of Latvia, it has been envisaged that in 1997 the Institute will join the University of Latvia, thus becoming an independent structural unit of scientific and academic education of the University of Latvia.

Main Areas of Research and Results

• Magnetohydrodynamics (J. Lielpeters, Full mem. LAS; O. Lielausis, Full mem. LAS; E. Scerbinins, J. Gelfgats, A. Gailitis).

  The obtained theoretical and experimental results (A. Gailitis) have created preconditions for a unique experiment-hydrodynamic generation of a magnetic field under laboratory conditions. An experimental stand with a specially designed turbine has been built, the turbine has been successfully tested with the help of a water full-scale mock-up of a dynamo model; in 1997 it has been planned to implement dynamo self-excitation in liquid sodium flow.

  Regularities of interaction of electrodynamic, hydrodynamic, and heat processes have been discovered that have an important role in the specific processes of growing semi-conductor monocrystals in which simultaneously the liquid phase is interacted upon by variable and constant magnetic field (J. Gelfgats, L. Gorbunovs, and J. Krumins).

• Heat and mass transfer (E. Blums, Full mem. LAS; and A. Cebers, Full mem. LAS). Investigations on the system of strips of magnetic liquid have been carried out. It has been theoreticaly envisaged and afterwards experimentally confirmed that the behaviour of such a system is analogous to the behaviour of two-dimensional smectic liquid crystal (A. Cebers in collaboration with P.&M. Curie University in Paris).

  Peculiarities of thermophoresis of lyophilic nanoparticles have been clarified, and principal experiments have been carried out confirming the influence of the magnetic field on thermodiffusion in ferrocolloids (E. Blums and A. Mezulis).

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Last update: 01-12-2005 18:53:57